Yes. Michael Gove's Book sounds delightful. Celsius 7/7.
Description:
Times columnist Michael Gove, is one of Britain's leading writers and thinkers on terrorism and foreign affairs. In his column which appeared in the Times on the morning of 9/11, he prophetically argued that the West's policy of appeasement towards terror was destined to provoke yet greater atrocities.
In Celsius 7/7, Gove explores the roots of Islamic rage, the historical factors which culminated in the current terrorist campaign and the Moslem world's troubled accommodation with modernity. He also analyses the intellectual roots and political appeal of Islamism, explains the factors behind Jihadi violence and places the current fundamentalist challenge in context.
Combining a broad historical sweep with character sketches of key figures such as Michel Aflaq, Charles de Gaulle, Sayyhid Qutb, Donald Rumsfeld, Abu Musab al_Zarqawi, Henry Kissinger and Osama bin Laden, as well as a detailed survey of Western political failures, Gove's account is a shrewd and detached analysis that provides powerfully convincing recommendations for future action
Strangely it gets mainly either 5 start reviews or 1 star reviews on Amazon. Which I find quite interesting itself....
Here are some of the bad reviews as I suspect they are perhaps more telling:
Unfortunately Michael Gove chose a subject on which he has little true knowledge. I spent 8 years resident in Muslim countries, divided between 2 of them - one of which is far and away the biggest of them all. I hold no torch for Islam, but all the Muslims that i know well have much to offer the Christians whom I also know well - and vice versa. (I am neither). His ideas about Islam are narrow, confused and give quite insufficient weight to ordinary nationalism or patriotism within these countries, countries which have all been seriously oppressed one way or another, especially by the UK and the Netherlands, and latterly the USA, the earliest oppression being within the living memory of many still alive, and the latest entirely up to date. When I questioned him about some of his statements in the book, at a book festival, he ducked them by leaving his response - one far from being answers -to the end.
To elaborate on what I say would take too long, but he is an outsider on the subject, articulating only current conventional perceptions.
This really is too bad to waste words on. Before reading this offal, perform a supraorbital lobotomy, pickle your frontal lobes, puree them unspiced, and then pour back in through your upper eyelids. Now you have entered the bizzare, racist, ranting, imbecility of Gove's mindset. And this man has something to do with UK policy ... it couldn't have happened without Murdoch.
The nastiest book I have read for many years. Full of poisonous prejudices, historical howlers and axe-grinding. Really astonishing and alarming that this man is in charge of UK school education
This text is complete and utter drivel but don't just take my word for it. Here is what William Dalrymple wrote in his Sunday Times review ...."Gove’s book is a confused epic of simplistic incomprehension, riddled with more factual errors and misconceptions than any other text I have come across in two decades of reviewing books on this subject."
The idea that this neanderthal could become Prime Minister is scary to say the least. As Secretary of State for Education he introduced a test for children using nonsense words. As a politician he knows a lot about nonsense. He knows less than nothing about education mind you. But you can't have everything. The backwoodsmen of the Tory Party love him because the teachers hate him. He is just playing to the gallery. They would have him as a leaders in a heartbeat.
Above review dated 2014
Utter tripe. Interesting to see claims that he has hardly visited a Muslim country or sought anyone of who is genuinely knowledgeable on the subject. Rather like he is proceeding with his 'project' on our education system, ignoring the voices of those with real expertise in his attempt to lead us bravely back to the 1950's. Gove is a very intelligent man. Unfortunately he thinks this means he does not need to listen to anyone else. He will wreck our education. He will do more harm to this country's children than a thousand terrorists.
Above review 2013